In the Jiangcheng Martial Arts Exam, over 1,400 students participated, and minor changes in the rankings were quite common. However, a sudden leap of a dozen positions up or down usually only happened among participants in the lower half of the list. These students had roughly the same power level, and even a slight change in points could lead to significant fluctuations in the rankings.
As for the participants in the top fifty, their power level was so high, and the point gap between them so substantial, that even when their ranking changed, they usually moved up or down by a maximum of one or two positions. Therefore, such an abrupt ascent of a dozen places was an extremely rare phenomenon.
It was no wonder that Chen Fan wasn't the only one who noticed this. The other teachers at Second Middle School also picked up on the anomaly and began discussing the situation animatedly.
"Hey, look! Xu Jingming has climbed the rankings and is already in 25th place!" one of the teachers exclaimed.
"What?! 25th place? Are you serious?" another asked incredulously.
"How is that possible? We only went for lunch, and the ranking has changed so radically?" a third wondered.
"He's really from an ordinary class? That's simply unbelievable!" a fourth said admiringly.
At that moment, the Jiangcheng Martial Arts Exam ranking board showed that 9 students from Second Middle School had entered the top fifty. Besides the 18th and 22nd positions, the highest rank among Second Middle School students was held by none other than Xu Jingming, positioned at 25th place!
"His ranking jumped from 32nd place straight to 25th, and his points increased from 328 to 372," observed Principal Zhao Yao of Second Middle School, squinting his eyes.
As a First-Stage C-level Spiritual Superpower User himself, he could easily memorize all the information about the participants' rankings. Naturally, he paid special attention to the students from his own school. The changes in Xu Jingming's points and rank were obvious to him, but even so, he couldn't believe his eyes.
According to the scoring system of the martial arts exam, slaying one High-Level unranked ferocious beast could earn between 6 and 8 points. Killing a lower-ranked First-Stage beast yielded between 14 and 16 points. The smartwatches updated the kill statistics approximately every 4 seconds.
Xu Jingming had gained 44 points in one go, which meant that in those four seconds, he had either killed five High-Level unranked ferocious beasts or three lower-ranked First-Stage beasts. Either way, it testified to his unbelievable strength.
"This level of strength may not match Zhou Mingyang and the other leaders, but it definitely corresponds to the level of the top ten," pondered Principal Zhao Yao. "When did such an outstanding student emerge in our school?"
According to the rules of Great Xia, the principals of all middle schools in the country, as well as the heads and deputy heads of the education departments in every city, had to be at least First-Stage Superpower Users. Although Principal Zhao Yao could not see Xu Jingming's actual battles, he could estimate his approximate level of strength even from the instantaneous changes in the ranking.
Naturally, the other two principals and the Head of the Department of Education also noticed these changes.
"Principal Zhao, it seems your school does have outstanding students after all," Head of the Department of Education Zhang Wenshan nodded approvingly. "This Xu Jingming must have held back before, and now that he's started to act with full force, his ranking has immediately soared."
"Principal Zhao's student seems to possess enough strength to make it into the top ten," added Liu Hang, the Principal of First Middle School.
"By the way, what superpower did your student awaken? Why was nothing heard about him before?" Zhang Wenshan asked curiously.
A student with this level of strength should not have remained unnoticed.
"To be honest, Xu Jingming only unexpectedly showed his potential today during the exam. To find out more about him, I need to question his homeroom teacher," Zhao Yao admitted honestly. "Teacher Chen, please come over here."
Faced with Head Zhang Wenshan's question, Zhao Yao immediately called Homeroom Teacher Chen Fan over.
Under the envious gazes of the other Second Middle School teachers, Chen Fan took a seat next to the principal. For an ordinary homeroom teacher like Chen Fan, the Head of the Department of Education and the school principals, being Superpower Users, were genuine big shots. Therefore, finding himself under the scrutiny of these people, he naturally felt a bit constrained.
"Principal, Head of the Department, as far as I know, Xu Jingming only awakened an E-level superpower called 'Weak Electric Discharge'," Chen Fan reported.
"An E-level superpower?!" Zhao Yao frowned. "Teacher Chen, are you absolutely sure you're not mistaken?"
"Principal, I am not mistaken. Before the exam, I even specifically warned him not to participate in the martial arts exam," Chen Fan replied with a bitter smile.
In truth, even he, as the homeroom teacher, was beginning to doubt whether an error had occurred during the registration of Xu Jingming's superpower back then.
"To reach this level with only an E-level superpower... it seems this Xu Jingming must have some outstanding qualities in other aspects," Head Zhang Wenshan mused. "It's a pity he hasn't entered the top ten yet; otherwise, we could see a recording of his battles."
The live broadcast system for the martial arts exam operated under a program established by the provincial authorities, and even he couldn't interfere with its operation. And trying to find Xu Jingming among the thousands of images from fixed cameras was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
"Let's wait a bit. With his level of strength, he should enter the top ten soon," Zhang Wenshan said. Despite the unusual situation with Xu Jingming, as the Head of the Department of Education, he could afford to show a little patience.
"Yes, all we can do is wait," Principal Zhao Yao nodded and, stopping Chen Fan who was about to return to his seat, added, "By the way, Teacher Chen, stay here with us."
Hearing this, Chen Fan beamed. Not every teacher had the opportunity to be this close to the Head of the Department and the school principals.
Time passed slowly, and the ranking of the exam participants changed constantly. Among all the names, there was one that was steadily climbing up the list.
25th place, Xu Jingming...
21st place, Xu Jingming...
16th place, Xu Jingming...
12th place, Xu Jingming...
9th place, Xu Jingming...
Less than an hour had passed, and Xu Jingming had already broken into the top ten!
"Xu Jingming did it! He really made it into the top ten!" Homeroom Teacher Chen Fan exclaimed excitedly. Being just a teacher of an ordinary class, he couldn't have even dreamed that one of his students would enter the top ten in Jiangcheng!
"Finally, in the top ten!" Principal Zhao Yao sighed with relief. He would have been uncomfortable if Third Middle School had continued to outperform them.
"Now we will finally see what allowed Xu Jingming to break into the top ten," Head of the Department of Education Zhang Wenshan said impatiently, looking up at the air. A moment later, the virtual projection corresponding to the ninth place flickered.
An image of a tall young man appeared in its place. The youth was clad in a black combat suit, his face resolute, and an unwavering fire burned in his eyes. In his hands, he held a black spear about two meters and ten centimeters long. The spearhead was sharp and lethal, and the fresh crimson bloodstains on it gave the weapon an even more ominous look.
At the young man's feet lay several already lifeless ferocious beasts. Not far away, another beast could be seen, which, cowering in fear, dared not approach.
The black suit, the long spear, the defeated beasts... All the elements of the scene came together, creating a sense of overwhelming power and unstoppable force.
The next moment, the youth moved. His spear shot forward like a striking dragon and pierced the last remaining beast through in a fraction of a second. The beast didn't even have time to react before it was instantly defeated by a single spear thrust!